SHU Men's Volleyball Enters The Record Books, Falls To Stevens, 3-0

Hoboken, NJ -
The Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeated Sacred Heart University, 3-0 Monday night as the teams played the longest set in the history of all three divisions for both men's and women's volleyball. Set 1 featured 18 ties and 13 lead changes before the Ducks came away victorious, 45-43. The decision ties the record for the longest set, dating back to March 29, 2005 when New Jersey City University took down Philadelphia Biblical University.

With the set tied for just the second time at 26-all, the Pioneers took their first lead of the game after an attacking error by the Ducks. A kill by senior outside hitter John Dennan brought the contest a 27-27 deadlock. Two consecutive attacking errors brought Stevens to game point (29-27), however a kill from sophomore outside hitter Roger Parent (Burlington, CT) gave Sacred Heart new life. It was then tied at 29-all after another attacking error by the Ducks, which forced Stevens to burn its first timeout of the set. Dennan put the Ducks back up by one with a kill, but another Stevens attacking miscue saw the set reach its fifth tie (30-30).

After teams swapped points on a service error than an attacking error, sophomore outside hitter SteFan PremDas came through for the Ducks and buried a kill to put Stevens back on top, 32-31. Parent responded with a hard-earned kill, then a service error by the Pioneers and a kill from senior outside hitter Barry Smith (Shelton, CT) knotted the contest at 33-all. The set reached a 40-40 tie after both teams posted attacking miscues and serving errors. In addition, Stevens earned points in that stretch from senior middle hitter Andrew Cranford, who drilled a pair of kills. Senior outside hitter Joe Trinsey got in the mix as he notched a kill of his own. For the Pioneers, Smith had a kill, followed by a pair from junior outside hitter Kalani Efstathiou (Beaverton, OR).

Finally, senior middle hitter Doug Reger came through with a kill after he fired an attempt into the net (41-41). Following service errors by both teams, Reger landed his fifth kill of the set to lift Stevens to a 43-42 advantage. Smith brought the set to its final draw at 43-all after he smashed a kill, however the Ducks took a one-game lead as Cranford and Trinsey closed out the record-setting performance having recorded a kill apiece.

The Ducks took most of the wind out of the sail of Sacred Heart as Stevens obtained an early lead in both Sets 2 and 3, en route to a pair of victories. Stevens was led by Trinsey, who accumulated 14 kills, lifted 12 digs and notched six blocks. Cranford produced a .667 hitting percentage with 13 kills on 18 swings with just an error. He also had a team-high eight total blocks. Dennan finished with nine kills, 12 digs and three blocks. Freshman setter Derek Mulvey dished out 45 assists in the win and lofted five digs.

For the Pioneers, Smith amassed 13 kills and nine digs. Efstathiou followed up with six kills and four total blocks. Sophomore setter Tim Sadowski (Salem, NH) connected on 27 assists, while junior libero Scott Grandpre (East Greenwich, RI) led defensively with 10 digs.

The Pioneers will return to action on Thursday when they visit Hunter at 6 p.m.